Chapter 962 Playing with fire
Shang Ruyi calmly said, "It should have been placed in the corner yesterday when those people were treating the termites."
She stayed up all night, clarifying her own movements and the movements of the people from Qianqiu Palace over the past few days, not giving outsiders a moment to take advantage of her. Except for yesterday when she was dealing with termites, when they all left, and after returning, because she was not in good spirits and went to bed early, they did not do a thorough cleaning.
It could only have happened during that period.
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er gritted her teeth in anger and said angrily, "It's all my fault! If I had checked the backyard properly yesterday, it would have been fine! It's all my fault!"
Compared to her anger and regret, Shang Ruyi seemed quite calm, comforting her, "There are only those who steal for a thousand years, not those who guard against thieves for a thousand years. They set up this scheme specifically to target us. If I'm not mistaken, the appearance of termites this time was probably intentional on their part, so that they could enter the Thousand Autumns Palace openly and escape our notice."
"..."
"Even if we see through it this time, there will be a next time."
"..."
"Or rather, as long as I am still the Queen Consort of Qin, as long as the King of Qin still holds military power and prestige, and continues to compete with them, this kind of thing will never end."
As she spoke, she looked down at Tusheer: "Don't blame yourself, but you must be more careful in the future."
Tusheer nodded vigorously.
She asked anxiously, "Then what can we do now? Can we tell the Emperor that all of this was a deliberate frame-up of the Princess?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "Without evidence, empty words are meaningless."
"..."
"What we need to do now is figure out what has happened these past few days. If they framed us, there must be loopholes. Only with loopholes will we have a chance to clear our names. However—"
"But what?"
"There's something I don't understand. What exactly are they trying to achieve this time?"
Tu She'er immediately understood the "they" she was referring to: Han Yuhui and the Crown Princess. Just from what Han Yuhui said in the Liangyi Hall last night, she knew that Han Yuhui was definitely the one who did it. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to pass by the back of Qianqiu Hall in the middle of the night. And the little palace maid Wen Ying who said she saw someone rummaging through Qianqiu Hall was probably also acting under Han Yuhui's orders.
Furthermore, the theft of Shang Ruyi's calligraphy and the placement of Sun Xianyue's clothes in their Qianqiu Palace—if it were only Han Yuhui, she probably couldn't have done such a thorough job; the Crown Princess must have arranged for others to do it as well.
All they did was to frame Princess Qin and Sun Xianyue for having an affair and ruin Shang Ruyi's reputation.
What else could it be—why?
Seeing Tushe'er's somewhat bewildered expression, Shang Ruyi frowned slightly and said, "I don't know why, although they have proceeded step by step this time and it seems that they have succeeded, I feel that they still have other intentions."
"Other thoughts?"
Tushe'er was even more bewildered. To her, the most important person in the entire palace was Shang Ruyi. When Shang Ruyi was framed and harmed, she wished she could rush up and bite the person who did it. But this time, Han Yuhui was trying to harm Shang Ruyi and ruin the reputation of the Princess Consort of Qin. To her, it was to the point that she wished she could go out and fight that old hag to the death.
Tushe'er asked suspiciously, "What other thoughts are you harboring?"
Shang Ruyi said, "We were caught off guard yesterday, while the other side was well prepared. If it were me, I would never have simply had the Emperor lock up and confine the person who made the mistake.
"..."
"Besides, the whole thing is fake. Once we find the evidence, Father will definitely release me."
Tushe'er thought for a moment and said, "So, they just want to confine the princess to her quarters?"
Shang Ruyi nodded: "Moreover, it's only a temporary confinement."
"But what can they do while the princess is confined to her quarters?"
"What can they do..."
Shang Ruyi murmured, "His Highness Prince Qin is away on campaign, and the Emperor has no intention of sending any more military supervisors. He shouldn't go back on his word, so it shouldn't be related to him. That leaves only—"
At this point, her breath hitched.
Tushe'er, who was standing to the side, suddenly realized what was happening and stared at her with wide eyes: "Could it be, Your Highness!?"
Just as the two of them realized what was happening, Chu Ruoyan was hurrying towards the Liangyi Hall. She was walking very fast, and Pan Qing behind her even had to jog to keep up with her.
However, just as they were about to reach the Liangyi Hall, Chu Ruoyan's steps suddenly became heavy.
Pan Qing finally caught up with her and carefully reached out to take her sleeve: "Madam!"
Chu Ruoyan stopped in her tracks, her instinctive fear making her pause. Pan Qing, her face full of worry, said softly, "Madam, you should reconsider. This is too dangerous."
Chu Ruoyan turned to look at her: "Danger?"
"yes."
"I... I just want to ask Your Majesty to let me take care of Yuan Gan for a couple of days. What danger is there in that?"
"..."
"If we're talking about danger, Yuan Gan is in greater danger."
As she said this, her brows furrowed even more, and she said in a deep voice, "This incident was clearly a trap set by the Crown Princess and Consort Han to frame Princess Qin—"
Upon hearing this, Pan Qing turned pale with fright. She quickly pulled her aside and, after making sure no one was watching, cautiously said, "Madam, you can't say things like that. If someone hears us, we're doomed."
"..."
“That Han Shanggong tried to harm us once before, luckily it didn’t work out. Now there’s the Crown Princess… and Princess Qin is under house arrest, she can’t help us.”
Chu Ruoyan took a deep breath. Although there was still some resentment and even anger on her face, she understood her current position. There is a saying that a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken, which probably describes her current situation. Even though she was once a golden branch and jade leaf, after the country was destroyed and her family perished, she did not even dare to show herself in front of Yuwen Yuan easily, for fear of provoking his anger.
Even though she was furious, she could only hold back and say in a low voice, "I know."
"..."
"But this time, it was all a setup by them. Yuan Gan is currently by the Emperor's side, but the Emperor still has to handle state affairs on a daily basis. I heard that when he went to the morning court today, he entrusted Han Shanggong with him. How could they possibly treat Yuan Gan well?"
"..."
"I must get Yuan Gan back to me!"
Pan Qing said, "Madam, you should think this through. The young prince is not by your side, so his life or death is none of your concern. If the Emperor really entrusts the young prince to you—it's fine if nothing happens to him, but if something really happens to him, then the responsibility will fall on you."
"..."
"This is playing with fire!"
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